A crew member in a bucket truck cutting a dead slash pine

Tree pruningManage

Tree pruning by written prescription.

No tree is pruned without a written objective. Structure on young trees. Clearance, deadwood and hazards on mature ones. Written in the language of ANSI A300.

Request tree pruning Add it to a Master Plan

Storm or emergency: (239) 467-0142

Method: Prescription pruning (PPQ)
Standard: ANSI A300 Part 1
Live wood per cycle: About 25% at most
Young trees: Structure every 2 to 3 years

Request tree pruning

What we see in the field

Most limb failures we see were set up years earlier.

Codominant stems left to compete on a young oak. Limbs stripped bare along their length so all the weight sits at the tips. Canopies raised where nothing needed clearance. Each one starts as a routine trim and shows up later as a split limb after a storm.

Prescription pruning moves the decision from the crew on the day to a trained prescriber who looked at the tree first. Jeff Kaulbars holds the Florida Chapter ISA Prescription Pruning Qualification (PPQ), a method developed at the University of Florida. It pays off most on young trees.

You get a written plan for each tree or group of trees, not "trim everything."

A climber on a ladder tied into a tree beside a lake — **In the field**A climber working from a ladder. The prescriber decides which branches; the crew prunes to it.

How we do it

Look first, write it down, then cut.

Evaluate the tree
Find the best leader and the lowest permanent branch. Note the conditions of concern: cracks, cavities, dead bark, very long branches, codominant stems with included bark.
Write the prescription
Stated as cuts, not a percentage. For example, 20 to 25 reduction cuts of 2.5 in at the ends of the three largest live branches.
Prune to it
Smallest cuts and fewest cuts that meet the objective. Final cut just outside the branch collar, never flush, never a stub.
Hold the dose
No more than about 25% of the live crown in a cycle. On large trees most live pruning is reduction at the crown edge, which lowers end weight.
Keep the cycle
Young trees every 2 to 3 years for structure. Every tree over 18 in, every year: clearance, deadwood and end weight.

Reducing codominant stemsWhere two stems compete, we reduce one so its size relative to the other shrinks over time, for example from 8 to 10 down to 5 to 10 or less. Over several cycles a clear trunk and one leader emerge.

What is included

What tree pruning covers.

A written prescription
The objective, the pruning interval, the branches to prune, the number, size and type of cuts, and the limits, written before any cut. The cut count is the scope every crew bids.
A tree risk check every visit
Every tree is screened each visit. Flagged trees over roads, walks, pools and entrances get a full ground assessment. Hurricane wind is the load we plan for, and included bark is the defect we look for first.
Structural training on young trees
Under 6 in trunk diameter: one dominant leader, codominant stems and included bark corrected, scaffold branches spaced.
One setup pass on adolescent trees
6 to 18 in: finish the structure, set the lowest permanent branch, set clearance, take out deadwood and hazards. Then maintenance.
Maintenance on mature trees
Over 18 in, every year: clearance to target, deadwood over 2 in out, and end weight reduced at the crown edge. Hazard reduction cuts. No routine thinning.
Clearance only where there is a target
Roads and drive aisles 14 ft. Parking stalls 10 ft. Sidewalks and paths 8 ft. Buildings 3 ft. Lights, signs and sight lines kept clear. With no target, the lowest permanent branch sits about 5 ft up in mowed grass, for the mowers. In beds and natural areas the lower limbs stay.
Groups of trees, one plan
We survey about 10% of a group (at least 5 trees), count the cuts each needs, and write one prescription with the range and average.

Priced on its own lineVine removal, root work, removals and palm pruning.

Next stepRequest tree pruningorbuild it into a 10-year Master Plan

Standards we work to

The standards a board can hold us to.

Our lines

No topping, no lion-tailing, no over-lifting.
No canopy raised where there is nothing beneath to clear. Lower limbs build trunk taper and caliper.
No crown thinning except by prescription. Never routine.
No climbing spikes in a tree that is staying.
Where clearance would take a limb over about 4 in at the trunk, a reduction cut along the limb instead.
Large or heritage oaks: we check for a permit first.
Any work outside ANSI A300 needs your written sign-off before the first cut.

ANSI A300 Part 1, Pruning

The national standard for how pruning cuts are made and how much is removed. Cities often write it into tree specs.

ISA Best Management Practices, Pruning

The companion guide to A300, with the reasons behind each cut.

Florida Chapter ISA PPQ

Prescription pruning: a written plan per tree or group, built on the tree's long-term structure.

ANSI Z133

The safety standard for climbing, rigging and aerial work.

Sources: Ptolemy Tree Pruning spec; Tree Pruning subject file; PPQ course material, Florida Chapter ISA; ANSI A300 Part 1; ISA BMP Pruning; ANSI Z133.

On the job

Tree pruning, in the field.

A power pruner and a chainsaw, the two tools behind most pruning cuts.

Illustrations

What a prescription is aiming for.

Drawn, not photographed: the same lessons we teach on site, in our own illustrations. Small cuts on a young tree save a failed limb later.

Illustration: a young live oak in three stages, from two stems at planting to one leader with spaced branches — Illustration. Shaping a young live oak: two stems at planting, the rival shortened in years 2 to 3, one leader by years 5 to 6.

Illustration: two equal stems before, and one year after one reduction cut on the rival stem — Illustration. Codominant stems: one reduction cut on the rival, and a year later the leader has taken over.

Illustration: a tight V-shaped fork with bark folded inside, and the same kind of fork split after a storm — Illustration. Included bark: the tight V, and the split it leads to in a storm.

Illustration: the same street tree young and grown, with a clear trunk up to its first permanent branch — Illustration. Setting the first branch while the tree is young, so the grown tree clears the road.

Illustration: a live oak limb over a roof, with the weight at its end, and three small cuts at the crown edge — Illustration. Why we reduce the ends: a long limb is a lever. Small cuts at the crown edge take the weight off and the limb stays.

Illustration: a green buttonwood before and after its yearly heading cuts, about 2 ft lower — Illustration. Green buttonwood, one of three exceptions with Hong Kong orchid and ficus: kept to size once a year with heading cuts, written as a size-control prescription first.

Who it is for

Written for the people who answer for the trees.

Inside a plan

Tree pruning sits under Manage.

MonitorManageProtect

On a 10-year Palm and Tree Master Plan, tree pruning is part of the Pruning Program, and every tree is pruned to a written prescription at every level. The floor keeps clearance where there is a target and takes deadwood and hazards out of mature trees. Every tree over 18 in gets clearance, deadwood and end weight every year. Protect what matters adds structural training on young trees, the busiest places first.

The full program is Protect what matters backed by PPQ. A PPQ arborist works field days on site, writes every tree's prescription and checks the work. Where the prescription calls for it, oaks over 12 in get select crown reduction, about a third of them a year, each oak after 5 years in the ground. Young trees go on a shorter cycle.

Trees are counted by trunk size class, so the pruning budget is built from the inventory and grows as the trees do.

The Palm and Tree Master Plan The Health Program

Questions

Questions managers and boards ask.

Still have a question? Call (239) 467-0142 or send a request.

What is prescription pruning?

A qualified prescriber looks at the tree, sets an objective (structure, clearance, appearance, risk reduction or restoration) and writes what to prune and why, stated as the number, size and type of cuts. The crew prunes to that. It takes the guesswork away from the person holding the saw. It is the Florida Chapter ISA Prescription Pruning Qualification, written in the language of ANSI A300.

Does prescription pruning cost more?

The PPQ course material found no evidence that prescription methods cost more than what crews already do. The difference is the training and the written plan. Structure set on young trees is cheaper than correcting a split in a mature one.

How much will you take off?

The smallest amount that meets the objective, and no more than about 25% of the live crown in one cycle. On mature trees that is usually clearance, deadwood over 2 in and hazard cuts.

Why not raise every canopy while the crew is here?

Lower limbs build the trunk taper and caliper that hold a tree up. We raise a canopy only where something beneath needs clearance: a road, a parking stall, a walk, a building, a light or a sign.

Is there a best time of year to prune trees here?

In Florida there is no seasonal restriction for most pruning. The cycle is set per property: young trees every 2 to 3 years, larger street trees at least once a year to hold clearance.

Do you ever use heading cuts?

On most trees, no. We prune to ANSI A300. Three kinds are the exception: green buttonwood, Hong Kong orchid and ficus. They grow fast, and a large property can have hundreds of them. For those three, heading cuts are written as a yearly size-control prescription, and the certified arborist confirms each tree fits. Heading cuts bring regrowth that has to be cut again, so once the cycle starts it runs every year. Heading cuts sit outside ANSI A300, so we get your written sign-off before the first cut.

Next step

Get a written pruning plan for your trees.

We walk the property, sort the trees by age and size, and write the prescription before any crew starts. On a 10-year Master Plan, it is built in.

Request tree pruning Add it to a Master Plan

Or start with a property assessment Call (239) 467-0142

Tree pruning by written prescription.

Most limb failures we see were set up years earlier.

Look first, write it down, then cut.

What tree pruning covers.

A written prescription

A tree risk check every visit

Structural training on young trees

One setup pass on adolescent trees

Maintenance on mature trees

Clearance only where there is a target

Groups of trees, one plan